Gareth Smit and Ashley Gilbertson: Halsey Street

Artist's Statement:

The Halsey Street neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, marks the border between University Heights (with 60,000 students), and the city’s commercial and cultural districts. Newark is in the midst of its largest redevelopment since the uprising of 1967, when local residents took to the streets in anger. At that time, a middle class, black neighborhood was torn down to make room for the Rutgers University campus. Today, Halsey Street is at the epicenter of the city's revival and is a microcosm for the thriving, multicultural hub that Newark is becoming.

Artist's Bio:

Newest Americans is a multimedia collaboration of journalists, media makers, artists, faculty and students, telling the stories that radiate from the most diverse university in the nation, Rutgers University Newark. Based in Newark, NJ, a city shaped by migration, our project affords a glimpse into the world of the newest Americans and a vision of our demographic future. Newest Americans is produced by Rutgers University Newark in partnership with VII Photo and Talking Eyes Media.